TODAY IS the last day for US cable modem companies, DSL providers, broadband over powerline, satellite internet companies and some universities to connect the FBI friendly snooping gear demanded by law.

The FCC's expanded interpretation of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act which was passed in 1994 to help FBI eavesdroppers deal with digital telecom technology requires everyone to make their networks easier to wiretap.

According to Wired, in the mobile phone business, where CALEA has 100 per cent penetration, it has been credited with boosting the number of court-approved wiretaps a carrier can handle.

The Justice Department began lobbying the FCC in 2002 to reinterpret the law as applying to the internet as well and last June a divided federal appeals court upheld the expansion 2-1.

Apparently coppers will still have to get a court order to spy on you, but as Wired points out, if it is made easier then Cops are more likely to use spying rather than policing to get a conviction.